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RESEARCHES AND TRANSACTIONS 

OF 

THE NEW YORK STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL 
ASSOCIATION 



LEWIS H. MORGAN CHAPTER 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



A Contact 
Period Seneca Site 

SITUATED AT FACTORY HOLLOW, 
ONTARIO COUNTY, N. Y. 



ARTHUR C. PARKER 

ArcheoLogist of the New York State Museum 
Director of the New York State Archeological Association 



^ 



WITH A MAP BY WALTER H. CASSEBEER AND 
REPORT OF A FIELD SURVEY BY H. C. FOLLETT 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
1919 



NEW YORK STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 

Morgan Chapter, Rochester, N. Y. 

OFFICERS, 1919 
President — Alvin II. Dewey. 
First Vice President — J. G. D'Olier. 
Second Vice President — E. C. Kelly. 
Secretary — Walter II. Cassebeer. 
Treasurer — Edward D. Putnam. 



Vol. 1. No. 2, 

RESEARCHES AND TRANSACTIONS 

OF 

THE NEW YORK STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL 
ASSOCIATION 



LEWIS H. MORGAN CHAPTER 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



A Contact 
Period Seneca Site 

SITUATED AT FACTORY HOLLOW, 
ONTARIO COUNTY, N. Y. 



ARTHUR C- PARKER 

Archeologist of the New York State 3luseutn 

Director of the New York State Archeological Association 



^ 



WITH A MAP BY WALTER H. CASSEBEER AND 
REPORT OF A FIELD SURVEY BY H. C. FOLLETT 



PUBLISHED BY LEWIS H. MORGAN CHAPTER 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

1919 

Press of C. F. Milliken & Co., Canandaigua, N. Y. 



..(DqTs 



■\,\\ii\^i A 



AN EARLY COLONIAL SENECA SITE 
At Factory Hollow, Ontario County 

By ARTHUR C. PARKER 

Prologue 

/\ i*LACID stream flows through a winding valley from a 
-^ ^ small lake to a low banked river. Along this stream 
from its headwaters, with irregular stops, a nation has flowed, 
backed water, moved on again, and Anally passed entirely out 
of the region; but the stream still flows on. 

It was reputed to have been the belief of that nation, now 
parsed on, that each stream had a spirit that ever remembered 
the story of the men whose voices it had heard. It was also 
])elieved that the stream, where its banks are high and rocky, 
was the home of tiny men-creatures called Jogaoli, or pygmies, 
and that they were immortal, forever faithfully preserving the 
ceremonies of the red men. The adept who believes, and whose 
heart is sympathetic, it was thought, might still hear the voices 
of the Jogaoh, hear them chanting the lore long forgotten by 
mortals. Now and then their drums would sound, tapping out 
the dances of the ancients. The listening ear and watchful eye 
of the initiate sometimes caught bits of wisdom that the Jogaoh 
chanted ; but unless he had bathed in sweet herbswater, had 
fasted many days and had offered sacrifice of tobacco, he could 
not remember and thus could never tell the secrets he had seen 
and heard. 

But should he be faithful and zealous the Jogaoh would not 
only reveal all ancient wisdom to him but give him a charm that 
would make his memory keen. Nor was this to be for his own 
selfish interests only, but that he might found an order and 
teach all others who would conform to the rites and offer 
sacrifice, the secrets of ancient days. 



4 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

The Valley of the Honeoye. 

Honeoye creek is a small stream formed by the outflowing 
waters of Hemlock, Canadice and Honeoye lakes, three 
small lakes lying between Canandaigua and the Genesee. All 
are lakes of narrow valleys and high precipitous hills, bnt the 
outlet that drains* them all has a wide and pleasant valley. It 
runs north north-west from the point where it drains the 
Honeoye, plunges over a series of falls and then takes two 
sharp turns, like an "S" reversed and then flows westward in 




ON TARIO 
COUNTY 



PIG. ]. Outline map of Ontario County, sliowing the location of the 
Factory Hollow Site. 

an arch bent north, plunges over a fall and a few rods further 
empties into the Genesee. Its passage way from those pleasant 
lakes has been a boisterous one over falls and around sharp bends. 

Today should one follow the Honeoye from its source to its 
confluence with the Genesee, and thence northward in the 
mingled waters to Lake Ontario, a land of great fertility would 
be traversed. Gardens, broad farms, rich bottom lands, and 
matchless orchards, would be seen. It is one of the garden 
spots of the Empire State. 

In the years before the pale invader found this spot, it had 
also been a garden land that for centuries had attracted to itself 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 6 

in an 3^ different bands of wandering red men. They came, — 
from whence we know not, — they saw and they coveted. They 
fought, and each in turn possessed it by driving the other out. 

It was in the year of 1905 that I first learned of the 
attractiveness of the Honeoye to the archeologist, and my 
introduction was due to the kindness and interest of Joseph E. 
Mattern of West Rush. Mr. IMattem had made a collection of 
relics from the Indian sites he had discovered and thus knew 
the region from an archeologist 's view point. I took his advice 
and explored the valley. Will you not take this journey again 
with me and visit the sites? Starting from the mouth of the 
creek on the south bank (with the Genesee to the west), we will 
pause to observe a site that shows clear traces of two 
occupations, the Iroquoian above and the Algonkian below. 
A little further south on the Stull farm along the Genesee is 
another mixed site yielding the hooded face pipe of the Iroquois. 
Passing up the creek on both sides relics will be seen wherever 
the ground is plowed. On the Woodruff farm^ is a remarkable 
site, again with two occupations. Jnet south of here Mr. 
i\Iattern found a very fine specimen of a semi-hmar slate knife 
of the so called Eskimoan type. Another site is found in the 
cemetery at East Rush. So far we are in the town of Rush 
and in the south-east corner of Monroe Coimty. At almost 
every farm house we are told of relics plowed up and of 
skeletons found when house and barn foundations are dug. 
Crossing the line into ^lendon township the creek veers sharply 
southward and curves into a bow. Within this bow on the 
Kirkpatrick farm is a large and much occupied site, known as 
Totiacton ; the French called it Somiontouan and said it was 
one of the four great towns of the Seneca. Around another 
bend we go, finding scattered relics by the wayside, and shortly 
the town of Honeoye Falls is reached. Just west and on a 
tributary stream that empties into the first bend of the "S" is 
another large site rivaling the former in the abundance of its 
relics. It is on the Dann farm and seems just a few years more 
recent than the Kirkpatrick site. Due east of here and a little 
north is the famous Gandagaro, on Boughton Hill. 

From Honeoye Falls we follow the creek into the town of 
West Bloomifield where relics become numerous. Every farmer 



6 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

has them or can tell yoii where to find them. Near the railroad 
station on the Augustus Warren farm is a remarkable site lying 
on rolling ground east of the creek. Two cemeteries have been 
found here, both rifled of their contents and no records made. 
We pause to utter our deprecation of vandals who dig for relics 
only and who never write down the facts of their digging, but, 
as it is, our anger rises as we proceed. The valley has been dug 
to death, when i)y the use of a little intelligence it might have 
been dug to life, and science might have benefited. But scores 
of vandals have sold their souls for the few dollars they got 
when they parted with the treasure they rifled from the graves 
of the sleeping red men. What ignoble thieves they are who 
rob the treasure vaults of sleeping history and fail to transcribe 
the record on the scrolls of man's activities! 

Some of the specimens from the Grus Warren farm were 
bought by R. M. Peck who sold them to the State Museum, but 
all perished in that disastrous fire in the State Capitol in 1911. 
(Amid falling walls, streams of molten metal and flames, I tried 
to save them, biit only had my overcoat burned with a dozen 
holes for my pains aud for days wore my ihands in bandages.) 

Passing still further up the stream a line of hills is met. 
At the top of the first, just to the east, is another site, the first 
hill-top Iroquoian stronghold that so far we have met. All 
others have been on the valley lands or on slight rises of ground. 
This liill-top is known as the Factory Hollow or Shattuck site. 
Here we leave our baggage, for here we desire to conduct our 
study. ^ 

To understand the location of this site we may pass on up 
the Honeoye to the point where the Hemlock outlet meets it. 
Two and a half miles onward, to the south-west, is the 
celebrated Richmond Mills site, one of the key sites of the 
prehistoric Seneca. Going back to Factory Hollow we find 
ourselves in the very heart of what was once a thickly 
populated Seneca country. To the east is a ridge of hills and 
over it the small stream which flows into the outlet at the "S" 
bend. Along it in close formation are a half dozen Seneca 
sites of an age ranging from early to mid-colonial. There are 
at least two sites in Livonia township, four in Lima, and 
northward those we have met in Mendon on the Dann and 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 7 

Kirkpatrick farms. Eastward, over the rugged liills aud along 
Mud Creek, is another group of sites. By a careful study of 
the map and by reading the records of Denonville aud Sullivan, 
we are able to discover the historic importance of the country 
in which we are located. 

The Factory Hollow site is twenty-five miles south from 
Lake Ontario measuring from the mouth of Irondequoit Bay. 
It is on a direct trail from Irondequoit, up the Pittsford branch 
of Irondequoit creek, over the divide to the Meudou ponds, 
thence directly south-west to the Totiacton site at the bend of 
tbe lloneoye. This was the route followed by Denonville in 
1G87. There was an east and west trail passing over the hills 
to Lima, the site of Gandachioragon, and onward to Duydoosot, 
on the Cleary farm, thence westward through other settlements 
to the Genesee. To the east the trail ran down the nose of the 
Factory Hollow site and took the great Canandaigua trail that 
passed a village directly east in East Bloomfield, thence, eight 
miles further on, entered Kanadaigua, bent a little south to 
Onakie and proceeded eastward to Kanandasaga, near the 
present site of Geneva. 

The sites we have mentioned along these trails are only a 
few of the many. Around the lloneoye and Hemlock are other 
sites once occupied by a stock that was here long before the 
Seneca-Iroquois. These sites are less conspicuous because the 
Iroquois stamped themselves deep into the earth, while their 
predecessors only trod it lightly. Our little journey up the 
Honeoye and our brief and all too inadequate survey has only 
suggested the rich archeological interest of this region. Yet 
in Colonial times it was widely known to the French as the 
very heart of the Seneca country. To the soldiers who followed 
Major-General Sullivan in 1779 it was a region that once seen 
must be conquered and possessed. To see was to desire and 
to desire meant thie conquest of the native occupants. 

The Factory Hollow site was not touched and probably not 
visited by Denonville in 1687. One hundred years later the 
site was probably not occupied. The descendants of its 
inhabitants had passed down the stream from their hill-top and 
settled on the Hat lands on what we know as the Warren site. 




FIG. 2. Map of the Factory Hollow Site, prepared by Walter H. 
Cassebeer. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 9 

Description of the Site. 

The Factory Hollow Seneca site is located on lot 73 in the 
Township of Bloomfield. It lies about a mile in a direct line 
over the hill south-west of AVest Bloomfield village, measuring 
from the four corners. To reach the site from the railroad 
the route requires that the visitor shall take the Batavia 
branch of the New York Central and alight at West Bloomfield 
Station. The road running to the south is then followed for a 
mile and a half to a point where the road intersects with 
another rmming from north-west to south-east. The north-west 
branch is followed to its intersection with a road going south. 
From this corner it is only a quarter of a mile to the side of 
the hill, upon which the site is located. The little settlement 
is called Factory Hollow. Another route may be taken from 
Lima on the Hemlock branch of the Lehiglh Valley. The route 
for three miles is almost directly east on the West Bloomfield 
road, two north and south roads l)eing crossed. The road 
crosses the Honeoye outlet along the bank of a small stream 
having a high bank. The route thence lies directly south for 
a (piarter mile or so to the Factory Hollow settlement. Courtesy, 
of course, requires the permission of the owners of the site to 
visit it, and we are assured that holders of membership cards 
in a responsible scientific society, such as the New York State 
Archeologieal Association or any of its Chapters, will receive 
every favorable consideration. 

The site is easily located by its sightly position and its 
steep west bank, rising to the east of the valley road along the 
Honeoye between the upper and lower bridges. The banks are 
Avooded but the top is cleared. 

Factorj' Hollow site is situated upon a long finger-like 
projection of the first terrace above the Honeoye outlet, the 
outer side being the edge of the valley and the inner formed 
by a small brook. In general the site looks to the north and 
its more even side is to the west, edging the Honeoye valley. 
The slopes are steep, the banks being just over the safety line 
of the angle of repose. On the steep side at the north-Avest 
corner the bank rises to the 120 feet of its height in a distance 
of 200 feet, measuring from the beginning of the rise. 

Mr. Walter H. (!assebcer, Secretary of Alorgan Chapter, and 



10 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

an established civil engineer antl architect, of Rochester, with 
great care made a survey of the site, and from the data secured 
prepared the map accompanying- this monograph. Mr. Cassebeer 
in a letter to the writer gives the following information: 

The general elevation of the portion occupied is about 900 
feet above sea level. It is the same level as the plateau across 
the valleys to the west and east. This valley to the west I 
should estimate about one quarter to one half mile wide, with 
the creek level about 740 to 750 above sea level, making this 
hill about 110 to 125 feet above tihe road to the west. The site 
slopes very gently, almost imperceptibly to the north, there being 
a difference of three feet between fences. There are three high 
points, one at a place to the west of the south fence, w^hich 
prospects west and rises a couple of feet; the second is about 
at the lone tree south of the southern pit ; and the third west 
of the northern pit. These points are all about level, and from 
the latter, north and westward, the land slopes toward the tree 
at the edge of the refuse heap about six feet. From there 
there is an undulating slope to the steep banks on the east. 
This slope is covered with refuse as shown. North of this tree 
about 200 feet begins the burial ground. This slopes gently to 
the north and opens again from the narrow neck at the trees 
to a wide area bounded on all sides by high banks, wooded east 
and west but open to a beautiful view down the valley, forming 
in itself, as you know, a sort of promontory between the .joining 
valleys or depressions to the east and the west of the site. 

The soil of the site is heavy and composed of clay, a mixture 
of clay and gravel and in certain spots, particularly along the 
eastern edge, pockets of sand and gravel. Beneath is a heavy 
deposit of yellow clay that When saturated causes slides along 
the bank. The top soil once denuded is also quite likely to 
slide or flow over the edges of the hill when the rains have 
been particularly heavy, or there has been a thaw after a heavy 
autumnal and early winter precipitation. The heavy soil must 
have made digging in aboriginal times most difficult, l)ut not- 
withstanding this, numerous graves have been found. F>tranger 
still is the fact that the graves are a foot or more deeper than 
is usual in gi'aves of this period. Tliese considerations are so 
vital even at the present time tliat digging is almost impossible 
during the dry seasons. Only when the soil has contained 
considerable moisture has excavation been possible to modern 
explorers. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 11 

The principal portion of the hill occupied by the Indian 
population lay in the areas between tihe two necks and somewhat 
back from them in each direction. This is shown by the refuse 
distributed through the soil and b.y the boundary lines of refuse 
dumps. Beyond each neck lie the burial grounds near which 
is no refuse, save occasional remnants of charcoal from grave 
fires. The occupied area, according to ]\Ir. Cassebeer's survey, 
is about 8% acres, while the graveyards take up three to four 
acres. It is thus seen that the site is larger than the one at 
Richmond Mills. 

No systematic Avork has been done save by members of the 
Lewis H. Morgan Chapter, and thus our sole records are from 
the notes of the members, particularly Joseph E. Mattem, H. 
C. Follett, G. R. Mills, Alvin H. Dewey and Walter H. Cassebeer, 
but the character of the site makes it an important one, marking 
as it does a transitional period in the culture of the Seneca 
people. 

Facilities for making the survey and for conducting test 
excavations were cheerfully granted by the owner of one part 
of the site, Mr. H. L. Hopkins. He is a man of unusual 
intelligence and has exhibited a patriotic spirit in assisting the 
survey. If local lan'd owners would follow Mr. Hopkins's 
example in permitting responsible investigators to make detailed 
studies for scientific purposes, much good Avould be done. 
Greater good, also, might ])e accomplished in shutting out mere 
(M)llectors who can show no reasonable excuse for their 
destructive vandalism than that of snatching in a ghoulish way 
the relies of the honored dead, red men though they were. 

Where the Evidences of Occupation Are Found. 

There are three principal sources of evidence affording 
material exhibits proving the occupation of the site: 

1. The general area, (a) disturbed surface soil containing 
the surface refuse, (b) refuse pits within the village area. 

2.' The side hill refuse dumps. 

3. The graves. 

The Occupied Layer and the Pits. 

The surface layers of the site are not as deeply stained as 
on other more sandy sites, or those having a lighter loam. 



12 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

However almost anywhere within the village area tests will 
show stained soil running down below plow depth and containing 
bits of charcoal, ashes, dhips of flint, bits of pottery, splinters 
of animal bone and now and then a scrap of brass and a glass 
bead. These are the durable things that were lost or scattered 
upon the surface with other material, and stamped into the 
soil by the uprooting of trees, by animal burrows, by over- 
washing and by falling into post holes. The surface is thus 
tattooed with the evidence of its former occupation and witJh 
the deeper pits and their contents we may reconstruct a picture 
of the original inhabitants. The pits, that is to say the holes 
into which garbage and other refuse was cast or the holes in 
which fires were made for cooking purposes, are relatively 
infrequent. In general they resemble similar pits on other 
sites and contain about the same sort of rriaterial. 

The Side Hill Dumps. 

Pits were not required for dumping purposes ordinarily 
because the custom was to duni}) everything discarded over the 
banks. Portions of the banks arc^ strewn with refuse, which in 
some places is quite deep, due, no doubt, to the fact that the 
soil on the denuded top was constantly washing down over the 
hillside. Mr. Follett, in his description contained in this paper, 
tells of one pit that gave plain evidence of stratification. The 
bottom contained purely aboriginal material and the Richmond 
Mills type of pottery, several bone objects, including the 
fishhook showTi in fig. 6. The top layers yielded the notched 
rim pottery and scraps of brass. 

Graves. The burial grounds of this site are situated at the 
north and the south extremes of the village. Numerous graves 
have been opened in the northern end by several collectors, 
among them the late R. Marvin Peck and Mr. Hinman, the local 
blacksmith. At least one hundred fifty graves are said to have 
been opened, though Mr. Follett doubts that so great a number 
were ever found. Burials are in the usual flexed position and 
deeper than in other sites, the heaviness of the soil notwith- 
standing. Artifacts are found buried with the skeletons in the 
same manner and position as Avith other Seneca burials of the 
same and later period. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 



13 




PIG. 3. Potsherds from the Factory Hollow Site. Scale: 1-2. Prom 
the Dewey Collection. 



14 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

Several interesting specimens have been found in the graves 
by responsible collectors. Among these specimens are : clay 
pots, clay pipes, some of them having bowls representing animal 
effigies, particularly wolf heads, bird bodies, mostly the eagle, 
coiled serpents, etc. The more conventional pipe of the period, 
that having the ringed bowl (see fig. 4), is also found. We 
believe that this type of pipe begins its existence with the 
Factory Hollow period or just before it. Its distribution is 
concurrent with the notched rim pottery. 

The Cultural Artifacts. 

The artifacts recovered from the Factory Hollow site include 
both native and European articles. Native articles predominate. 
As in the case of nearly all sites of the early contact period, 
European material here is mostly remodeled to conform to 
native needs and fancies ; for example, the sheet brass of 
metallic kettles has been cut into arrow points and ornaments 
of native motif. As in the case of all such sites, both native 
utensils and European occur side by side, as for example a stone 
knife and a steel knife. Material from this site may be classed 
as follows: 

Stone. Hammers, pitted and massive, mullers, celts, 
chisels, pipes, slickers, net sinkers, anvils, metates, etc. ; flint 
arrowpoints, knives, scrapers, disks, etc. ; Catlinite ornaments 
and effigies. 

Pottery. Vessels (mostly in fragments), pipes (mostly 
fragments), beads (one), molded disks (one), baked wads of clay. 

Bone and Antler. Awds, punches, pitching tools, joint 
pendants, pins, arrow and javelin points, needles, shuttles, 
beads, tubes, barbless fishhooks, etc. 

Teeth. Beaver scrapers, pendant beads from the bear, 
wolf, elk, fox, etc. 

Wood. Parts of wooden- bowls, spoons, arrow shafts 
(ends preserved by contact with brass or copper), etc. 

Skin and Fur. Parts of robes and clothing, preserved 
by contact with brass or copper and occasionally iron. 

Shell. A few large tubular beads, an efRgy, unio shell 
scrapers, etc. ; numerous large holed wampum beads. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 15 

Articles of European Origin. l>r;iss kettles, pewter 
spoon, cud (»f iron chisel bliule, ii'ojj axes, knife blades, 
awls, scrap brass; glass beads, tubnbu- ;nid round, trade clotli, 
bbiidvet (doth, ete. 

Articles of European Origin Wlodified by Native Workers. 
Fragments of the sheet brass from the kettles were eut into 
triangular and (one) notched arrowpoints, pendants, ornaments, 
awls, needles or shuttles, etc. Glass tubular beads were some- 
times eut. 

It is quite likely that many other articles than those 
specifically mentioned here have been found on this site, but 
the numy collectors who have dug into the graves and pits have 
left no record of their finds with any central institution. 

Stone Articles. The stone hammers from the site are the 
usual massive stones of hard rock and show battering on all 
faces. Pitted hammer stones while present in the refuse have 
not been found to be so abundant as on certain earlier sites. 
Some smootih-faeed muUers have been found and a number of 
flat metates or grinding stones. So far as is known to the 
writer, no bowl mortars have been found here and no cylindrical 
pestles. Celts from the site are found in the same relative 
proportion as other sites of the same period. Most of them are 
the ordinary equilateral celt, some polished and some still 
showing the picking process. A few small chisels have been 
found. No flat l)ellied adzes occur and none of the so-called 
beveled celts (wdiich are in reality adzes). The flint arrow- 
heads are of the usual triangular form, but on this site they are 
made with unusual neatness and are rather smaller than those 
found at Richmond ^lills. Few are more than an inch and a 
quarter long. The flint knives are the usual types, some oval 
and some with convex sides aud with stems. Some flint knives 
are discoid. 

Catlinite Articles. Apparently there was no extensive 
tradf^ in red pipe-stone or Catlinite until early in the contact 
period. On early sites very little of this material is ever found. 
Once seen by the Seneca, however, it became a prized material 
and w^as employed for many decorative purposes. The Seneca 
at Factory Hollow secured in some way a few fragments of the 
precious red pipe-stone. The few articles in our possession 



16 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 



show that of some they carved beads and of other pieces they 
carved effigies. The beads are long rectangh^s, two to two and 
one half inches long and one-fifth inch sqnare (in cross section). 






PIG. 4. 1. Ringed bowl piiie. 2. Catlinite eagle ettigy. 3 
button. Scale: About actual size. From the Dewey Collection. 



Pottery 



The drilling seems to have been accomplished with a steel drill, 
but we may by no means be sure of this. 

One effigy of an eagle or other bird carved in Catlinite is 
among the more interesting specimens from the site (see fig. 4). 
It is a little more than an inch and a quarter tall and an inch 
wide, and less than three-eighths inch thick. The effigy 
represents a ben Iced bird with wings upraised and outspread. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 17 

Evidently it was intended as a pendant, for the head is 
perforated laterally. The drilling is at a slant from the right 
side, and a needle cannot be put tlhrough from the left side 
owing to the height of the wing above the perforation, but a 
needle inserted on the right side goes clear through until it 
, touches the left wing. 

Other Stone Objects. One or two stone pipe bowls of the oval 
or vase type are reported from the site. One fragment of the 
panther pipe is reported, but no stone pipes from the site occur 
in the Dewey collection. 

Certain long, flat, elliptical pebbles seem to be "slicking 
stones" and may ihave been used in molding pottery. These 
stones are found in some abundance on many Iroqvioian sites 
and many show use. Many that show no marks of usage have 
been found in graves here as well as elsewhere. Some are 
incised along the outer edges as if flints had been pressed with 
a sawing motion against the "slicker". Some of the coarser 
grained slickers show use as abrasive stones. A few seem to 
have been used to sharpen the edges of the iron and steel knives 
acquired from traders and early explorers. 

The chipped flints are mostly triangular arrow points. 
A few knives having shoulders and stems occur. The few 
notched points reported from Factory Hollow seem to have 
come from an Algonkian site on the flat below. If any have been 
found on the hill, we may assume that the larger number were 
left there by the earlier inhabitants of the region, long before 
the Seneca came into possession of it. Some flint disks have 
been discovered that seem to be circular knives. Knives of 
flint, of course, Avere used with a sawing motion, the many 
small sharp points in the edge of the blade doing the cutting. 
It was not easy to whittle with a flint knife, though this could 
be done in a limited way with large single flakes of the harder 
material. Some scrapers are reported, but no drills. 

Pottery Articles. Quantities of broken pottery have been 
found here, the sherds occurring in nearly all the refuse pits. 
A few complete vessels have been taken from graves, there 
having been at least two in the Peck collection, destroyed in 
the Capitol fire in 1011. Most of the pottery has the notched 
rim and is from bowl-shaped pots rather than from the older 



18 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 



jar-like pots of the earlier period, as at Richmond Mills (see 
fig. 5). The neck and collar type does occur, however, but only 
in the bottoms of the older pits or in old pits that have been 
filled and which contain no sherds of the notched type. Sherds 
of the neck and collar type with the incised lines in triangular 
plats with opposed directions are found at the bottoms of the 
side hill dumps. The notched rim sherds are found on top. 
In some cases there is an overwash of clay and soil separating 
the two layers. 

These facts seem to be especially significant. They indicate 
that during the occupancy of this site the Seneca Indian's 




FIG. 5. Type of notched rim pottery vessel fi'oin the Factory Hoi low- 
Site, New York State Museum Collection. From H. K. Deisert. Scale: 1-5. 



evolved or adopted another type of pottery decoration and ei'eii 
altered the form previously used. 

The two types of decoration are well illustrated in figure 
8. Even here there will be found to be a variation between 
the kind having the plats of incised parallel lines and the more 
specialized Mohawk forms. There is even a difi^erence between 
these and the Richmond Mills types, indicating that the process 
of degeneration had already set in, with the tide moving toward 
the notched edge. Some influence was at work producing a 
modification in decorative motifs. What was it? 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 



19 




FronftL'bewerConecUon/'"'" ''^" ^''''°'^ """°^^- ""'''■ ^'^^^'^^ 2-3. 



20 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

Pottery Pipes. A considerable number of broken pipes 
have been found here, and include animal and bird effigies, 
snake forms, and the familiar bowl with parallel rings (see fig. 
4). One pipe is described as having a bear's head with a 
hollow inside having small pebbles in it. The rattle-head pipe 
of clay is found on a number of early Seneca sites, and, indeed, 
some that date close to 1700. 

Other Pottery Articles. A few reworked fragments of 
broken pottery have l)een found in the form of disks, as if they 
had been used as small quoits. These are characteristic of 
early Iroquoian sites, particularly those in Jeft'erson county. Of 
even greater interest is one molded disk or dice, similar to the 
deer bone button used by the Iroquois in sets of eight in a dice 
game. The pottery button is small and well made. See figure 
4. One perforated pottery bead, round in shape, is reported. 

Bone and Antler Articles. These are numerous in the refuse 
and many fine specimens have been discovered. The awls are 
of tlie usual types, that is, joint ends, tubular, trough-like, 
round, and solid splinters, all, of course, sharpened on one end 
for perforating objects. One long awl, or rather punch, is 
shown in figure 6, to the left of the plate. A smaller awl of 
the splinter type is just to the lower right of it. One of the 
unusual specimens is shown at the top of the picture. It seems 
to be a scoop or a marrow spoon. However, it may have been 
intended as a bone scraper, for the edge is sharp. The bone 
needles from the site are particularly good, being thin and 
d(4icate. Two types are shown at the lower right of the plate. 
One has the hole near the center and the other nearer one end. 
The fish hook shoAvn in the plate is similar to those found in 
such abundance at Richmond Mills. It is barbless like most 
if not all prehistoric specimens. Numerous animal teeth 
separated from the jaws are found in the refuse, and, indeed, 
some in the graves. Some of these plainly show use, as those 
of foxes, bears, elks, etc. Some beaver teeth have been used 
as scrapers and have been hafted. A wolf and elk tooth are 
shown to the left center of the plate. A beaver tooth scraper 
is above it. In the lower center of the plate are two ball joint 
pendants. These are found in considerable numbers in the 
refuse. 



m. 



0. 



PIG. 7. Antler articles from the Factory Hollow Site. Top row: 
Antler arrow point in process. Lower row: Antler pitching tools. Scale: 
About actual size, Dewey Collection. 



22 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

Bone Figurines, or small effigies of the human figure, carved 
in bone, are one of the characteristic articles of Factory Hollow. 
These, so far as I know, occur only in graves. There were 
several in the Peck collection in the State Museum, one or two 
of them being of unusual interest. At least two specimens are 
ingeniously carved in the famous "Septeml)er ^lorn" attitude, 
wihich proves that "there is nothing new under the sun". 
Beauchamp illustrates several from this site in "Horn and Bone 
Implements", bulletin of the State Museum. A specimen of a 
carved figure is shown in the plate. 

Antler Articles. Some exceptionally fine antler articles 
have been found in both graves and refuse heaps. Figure 7 
shows a series of antler points, illustrating the process of making 
an antler arrow point. The first specimen, at the left upper 
corner, shows the prong as broken oft" the antler. It is 
unworked, save for the intentional break. The next figure 
shows the prong cut obliquely at one end. The mark of the 
steel or the flint knife shows a well directed incision. The third 
piece has been scraped to reduce its irregular outei- surface and 
has had the base worked into the barb. The last specimen 
shows a typical Factory Hollow antler arrow i)oint, with the 
hole drilled in as a socket for the arrow shaft. The marks of 
the scraper are plainly visil)le on the surface of the point, which 
is reproduced in approximately actual size. 

The condition of antler specimens suggests that the native 
craftsmen possessed the secret of working antler in a softened 
condition which they afterw^ard again hardened. Many antler 
specimens show marks of cutting that indicate that they had 
been cut when they were as easy to cut as wax. Mr. Dewey 
has suggested that the process was that of soaking the antler 
in a sort of vinegar and afterward hardening it by allowing 
it to remain in limewater. However this may be, it is the 
experience of most archeologists to find antler shavings that are 
as long and thin as wdiittlings from a stick of green wood. 
Antler is a hard and difficult substance to carve with flint tools, 
and even steel tools, such as the Indians were able to get at the 
time. 

The second and lower row in plate 7 illustrates several 
antler "pitching tools" or pins, the first of which shows the 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 23 

cutting and shaving down process, and tlie last the complete 
polishing. This specimen is turther colored by contact with- 
a piece of copper or brass, being a brilliant copper green. It 
is from a grave. All the specimens are exceptionally good and 
typical of the Seneca culture throughout its duration in this 
special geographic area. They may be tools used in tiaking 
chipped tlint implements, and their ends show that they have 
been used against stone. Thus, they are called "pitching 
tools", a term familiar to archeologists. 

Shell Articles. The shell articles from Factory Hollow are 
relatively few compared with those from later sites. The 
tubular shell beads are of the characteristic coastal type and 
are made from the dressed down columellae of the Fulgar. 
Some have been cut into massive and irregular beads, which 
nevertheless have been neatly perforated. 

The smaller tubular shell wampum is of considerable 
interest because it represents the earlier type of this bead. The 
size is slightly larger than the later bead and all appear to 
have been made from Fulgar shells. None appear to have been 
of the purple Venus variety, though the bU'aching process of 
(burial generally removes all traces of the natural coloring. A 
string of white wampum more than three feet long was found 
in one grave. It is of the type described. 

Shell effigies from the site are rare, but a few- small pendants 
are in the Dewey collection. One of these represents a claw 
and has a small perforation for suspension. Another seems to 
be the remaining portion of a bird effigy, — the familiar flying 
heron type, numerous on later sites. 

Unio shells are numerous and most of them seem to be the 
remnants of those eaten. A few, however, were used as 
scrapers, probably in skin dressing or for shaping the surfaces 
of pottery vessels. On these the ground down edge of the shell 
shows the type of usage to which the shell was put. 

Brass Articles. Numerous articles composed of brass have 
been found, particularly in graves. IMost of these articles are 
small brass kettles, few having a diam^eter greater than ten 
inches or a depth greater than six. Some have been found 
containing the remnants of food, such as squash seeds, fish 
bones, etc., preserved b}^ the copper oxide. Others have been 



24 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

found wrapi)ed in elotli, bark, fur, skin and wads of Buffalo 
hair. These substances were so saturated with copper salts 
that preservation has been complete. 

Of greater interest culturally is the use made of sheet brass 
by the Indians themselves, for this shows tlie adaptation of a 
new material to native uses. 

Brass articles so formed fall in two general classes, 
ornamental and useful. The most common of the useful 
articles are triangvdar brass arrow points. At Factor^' Hollow 
several types of arrow points are found; the isosceles triangle, 
the triangle with an indented base, the triangle perforated in 
the center, and the barbed point having a straight neck. Some 
of these types are shown in the line draAving, Fig. 8. The 
t)arbed point is a rare type and few if any have been found 
elsewhere. The awl at the lower left in general follows the 
lines of a bone awl. The nicked edge seems to l)e tiie remains 
01 perforations in the piece from which the awl was cut. The 
article at the bottom may be an attempt to make a rude saw. 
The toj) or ])ack is strengthened by a folding of the matei'ial. 
Th(^ oval piece seems to be a iienchint and to have been used 
as an ornament. The large hook in the center is a most 
interesting specimen, and apparently is an ornamental pendant. 
The material is thicker than in the case of other cut bras., 
ornaments. It is interesting to note that so far as the 
ornaments of European brass are concerned, the Seneca made 
almost the sanu' forms in producing them that the moiirul 
building Indians of Ohio did centuries before in mica; but 
though the Seneca knew of mica, during the long period they 
had been in this area they never used mica for ornaments. 
Mica was tabooed for reasons best known to the successors of 
the mound building Indians. 

Among the brass articles from Factory Hollow is a piece 
evidently once a patch applied to a brass kettle. It is 
perforated and has strips of brass inserted and bent over to 
hold on the patch. 

Other brass articles found are rolled tubular beads and a 
few conical fringe ornaments, much more abundant on later 
sites, especially on the Tram farm and on the Augustus 
Warren farm. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 



25 




FIG. 8. Brass articles from the Factory Hollow Site. 1. Triangular 
point. 2. Perforated bras.s triangle. 3. Brass pendan^. 4. Barbed brass 
point. 5. Sickle shaped brass pendant. 6. Brass awl. 7. Brass saw. 
Scale: 2-3. Dewey Collection. 



26 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

Iron Implements. Articles of iron or steel from the site 
iiu'lnde a few knives, evidently once having- bone handles, iron 
axes of the usual trade type, known as the Ghent ax, chisel 
edges and other undetermined specimens. Several iron awls 
have been found, none of them in handles. 

Articles of Glass. These include European beads. At 
Factory Hollow only a few types of European beads have been 
found, indicating' only the begrinning of trade with the whites. 
In all sites of a later period beads are abundant and of a score 
or more tyi)es. The beads in our possession from this site are 
mostly round blue beads about one fifth inch in diameter. 
There are a few small blue and Avhiti' l)eads and a still smaller 
nnmber of red beads striped red and white. The State iMuseum 
has ten varieties of beads from the site, all from the Dewey 
collection. 

Preserved Cloth. Where blanket cloth or clothing fabric 
has been in contact with brass or copper the leaching out of 
the copper salts saturates the fabric and preserves it from decay. 
In the graves of this site several piec(^s of red woolen cloth of 
coarse weave have been found, still retaining the original red 
dye. It a])pears to be a type oC trade cloth known for several 
centuries as Dobson, after an English manufacturer. 

Relation of Factory Hollow Site to Others in the Region. 

Seneca Village Sites in G-eneral. From the testimony of 
early travelers, missionaries and exploi-ers, the Seneca tribe 
was a populous one, oc;-upyiug a considei-able range of territory, 
and living in at least four large villages and several smaller 
ones. If we take the number of four principal towns as the 
correct number in the time of Greenhalg-h for example, we 
may assume that each of these village localities at a previous 
time had other localities. We know that it was the custom 
of the Seneca and cognate tribes to move their towns to other 
sites at periodic times. The duration of an occupied site 
probably depended uj)()n several factors. A site was habitable 
so long as there Avas a good water supply, a plentiful Avood 
supply, a fertile ag:ricultural area, and easy communication 
with other villages. There may have been also thaumaturgical 
reasons for moving villages. It may be that the e\nl spirits 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 27 

of witches, the ghosts of enemies, the iinre(]viiti'(l si)irits of 
slain warriors or the wraiths of animals, haunted the village, 
bringing siekenss and ill hick. One might endure cold and 
hunger, but who can withstand the unseen powers of the air! 
The dream of a sorcerer, the whim of an old woman of the 
cult of the rulers of the tribal destiny may have ordered the 
movement of the village to a new location. Life is a tragedy, 
the red forest dwellers well understood. The old viUage 
with its heaps of decaying refuse, its tainted water, its graves 
find its tick-infested l)ark lodges, must be abandoned. Its 
muddy and rutted area was slimy with the filth of a decade. 
[t was haggard and withered like a leaf burnt by August sun 
and bitten by October frost. It must fall in ruin. The 
neighboring village had heard the ghostly voices warning. 
Already their new cabins were smiling upon a grassy plot. The 
time has come for ns to go. 

The survey had been made and with many a sacrificial 
prayer, the burning of t()l)acco incense, the wail of regret, the 
chanting of invocation, the new site is announced. The time 
is at hand when we go ! 

It is springtime and the ycai- is new. We shall bestir 
ourselves like the birds and build new nests! With songs of 
joy, the furniture, pelts, utensils, ceremonial paraphernalia ai'c 
moved and placed under gunrd. The men are busy cutting 
poles, timbers and stakes for the new houses. Bark is peeled 
in great sheets that smell of the fragrance of the elm. Boys 
and men strip otil' shreds of elm bMi'k, l)utternut and basswond, 
using the inner l)ark. These shreds are soaked and twisted 
into ropes and cords for tying the sheet bark on the new houses. 
Everyone is busy, for the life of the red men is one of 
continuous toil. Great barn-like frames are erected and the 
slabs of liark laid over them. Soon there is a new village aiul 
there is great rejoicing. At the Strawl^M-ry thanksgiving, a 
village festival is held to which all neighboring villagers are 
invited. The winter's store of corn, transported from the old 
granaries, affords meal for bread: the Avarricn-s have provided 
a ton of meat. It is a time of thanksgiving. 

Then there is a wail. A long somber looking burden is 
taken out on a bark litter. In a spot chosen for the purpose 



28 A CONTAlCT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

there is h newly made grave. We listen, and from a new long 
house we hear a warrior shout. Shortly a grandmother comes 
forth with another and smaller bundle upon a thin board with 
a hooded top. There is a new babe in the village, a new babe 
eoiiic to watch the vilhvgc grow and age, — a new babe come 
who shall perhaps live to see the village move again before he 
is old enough to go with the men on the hunt. When he is 
old enough to walk he will visit the old village with his mother 
who, armed with magical charms that will keep the ghosts 
away, will tell him the story of the old town. And what a ruin 
it is! Rank weeds and briars have grown about it. Some of 
the lodge poles are standing, like ghosts of trees. The bark 
has rotted off and lies in tattered heaps. Burrowing animals 
prowl about, forest mice gnaw at tlu^ bones of the last feasts. 
"Our house was here," says the mother. "There is a magical 
stone there. Th<^ graves are over in the clump of pines." No 
stay in the abandoned town is long, for it is unlucky to reawaken 
the shcides that linger there. 

The new village by this time shows the marks of occupation 
iind iinist eventually be abandoned: l)ut however well located, 
the old towiU site will not again l)c molested. The march is 
always on. 

Such, in br-ief, and leaving out any attempt at description, 
is the lite story of the Seneca village. 

Eaeh oiu' of the four (or more) great villages kept on 
moving. It is not e;isy to say where the earlier Factory IIoHoav 
site WMs, but 1 tbink we may be reasonably sure that its new 
location was on the flat land and rolling hillocks now on the 
Warren farm. It is important to note that the Factory Hollow 
site marks the last of a series of hill-top locations. Not long 
after- this, tliongh sightly places may have been chosen for 
drainage and for some natural advantage, the Seneca villages 
came (h)wn from the hills and were located on the lower level. 
It may be that the Factory Hollow site marks another change. 
It does not appear to liave been palisaded like some earlier sites. 
It may be that the steep hill was considered sufficient protection. 
Nor is there any suggestion or trace of a wall and ditch, or a 
palisade line on the loAVer site on the Warren farm. The walled 
towns were disappearing. But it must not be thought that 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 29 

all walled towns disappeared. Some were in existence when 
Deuouville raided the Seneca towns in 1687. But the beginning 
of great changes had started. 

Age of the Site. The Factory Hollow site, as we have 
previously stated, marks the period when the intiuence of the 
white trader was just beginning to be felt. It has yielded too 
many articles of European origin to m^ke it possible for us to 
state that the site is as early as the Champlain period. There 
are too few to permit the estimate to fall as low as the 
Denonville time. Our estimate must fall between these periods, 
with the margin well toward the earlier time. Let us say for 
the sake of argument that it was just before the time of the 
Erie wars of 1656. Let us even admit that the site was known 
to Sanson d' Abbeville, whose map appeared in 1656. Look 
at his map and see the string of lakes on a tributary of the 
Genesee and say if that tributary is not the Honeoye. Look 
again and see that he names the country as the land of the 
Sonontourorons (the people of the hills, or the Seneca). The 
Boughton Hill site is one that lingered on the hills. Trust 
the French to measure their foes and to locate their strongholds. 

The Name of the Village. We know that the occupants of 
the site were the Seneca. We know this because every specimen 
from the hill cries out its origin as audibly to the understanding 
as if it spoke to the ear. The material compares with that 
from sites that white explorers marked and mapped as Seneca. 
It does not compare in similarity wiith material from mound 
sites or from Algonkian sites. It is Seneca material; the 
occupants of the site were Seneca. This much we may state 
with certainty. 

But what village was this on the hill? The curious and 
the cautious will ask, "Has it a name?" and demand that we 
give it. This is a demand that is proper, yet, how shall we 
dispose of it? Lewis Henry Morgan, in the "League of the 
Iroquois", gives the name of Ga-nun-da-ok as that of West 
Blooniifield. May it not be that this was the name applied to 
the hill-top site along the Honeoye and on the hill above Factory 
Hollow? Shall we say, for the sake of better information, that 
our site is Ga-nim-da-ok ? The word means, "village upon a 



30 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

hill," or "upon the hiH". Ganunda is a term applied to both 
village and to hill, for the Seneca villages M^ere upon hills. 

Here then is a problem for those who are lovers of truth 
and devoted to mystery, even as the "faithful of old" whom 
we have described in our prologue. Who shall offer incense 
of toliacco as he ponders? Who shall be faithful and zealous, 
that the Jogaoli may reveal the hidden wisdom and bestow a 
charm? The "order" indeed has been founded, and its members 
must retain the "listening ear and the watchful eye", thereby 
to observe the wisdom of the Jogaoli. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 31 

APPENDIX 

A Field Survey of Factory Hollow Site 

By Harrison C. Follett 

My first visit to tliis site in 1915 did not impress me with 
its importance, owing- perhaps to tradition which says that the 
refuse is scarce and articles rare. Later, with more 
investigation, I altered my opinion, as will be seen. 

There are at this time a number of depressions on the west 
bank of the site, showing distinctly that considerable excavating 
had been carried on hy tnuateur collectors. 

Tlie top soil here is about two feet deep, composed of a 
tenacious red clay, interspersed with sand and resting on a 
strata of hard yellow clay. When th(! top soil has l)een 
disturbed, a heavy rain will cause it to slide, and in this way 
tons have been carried to the bottom of the hill, taking with 
it the refuse, which in its course mingles with the soil to such 
an extent that very little is visible when it is arrested by the 
flat lands below. 

Several test pits were sunk ah)ng the slop(% by Mr. Dewey 
and myself, resulting in the h)eatioji of a innnber of deposits of 
refuse, most of which had been previously dug over. These 
were located near the escarpment of the bank and well toAvards 
the southern end of the village site. In the virgin refuse the 
artifacts' were not plentiful and contained but few animal bones 
for the quantity of black earth encountered. Occasional finds 
of a bone awl, iron axe, pieces of bone needles, brass scrap, 
and a few of the round red g-lass beads were made. 

From this place to the northern fence line which crosses 
the site from west to east, very little refuse exists. In all 
probability most of the deposit which once undoubtedly existed 
here has been washed to the bottom and buried underneath 
several feet of clay. 

Further survey of the site rendered it apparent that there 
must be quantities of refuse and of m,uch more importance 
than that which we had so far encountered; therefore 
investigation was made on the slope on the north side of the 
fence above mentioned and in the heavy underbrush. Some 
very interesting artifacts were exhumed proving of the utmost 
importance in rescuing from oblivion the annals of the past as 
they are recorded in this kitchen midden. 



32 A CONTAjCT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

The refuse had apparently been dumped over the edge of 
the bank and washed down, lodging wherever there was a 
depression arresting it, as evidenced by the triangular shape 
of the pits on completion. In one of these pits we found 
quantities of pot sherds (identical with those of the Richmond 
Kills site), buried in the ashes and on the bottom, directly 
over this and in contact with the heavy overlaid rim pattern 
of the later date, which is the predominating type found here. 
Over this deposit and nearer the surface were pieces of brass 
kettles. As the ashes were mingled together and free from 
surface or any foreign matter there can not be a mistake in 
the identification which we were particular in observing. This 
deposit was three feet deep in the center. Among the artifacts 
unearthed is a bone fishhook, the only one known to have been 
found on this site. 

A few years ago a great slide of earth took place on the 
west slope near the north fence line, exposing large quantities 
of animal bones. The slide was of such dimensions that it 
aroused considerable interest, and it was visited by a number 
of people who curiously pronounced the bones as human. As 
a result stories arc prevalent that skeletons were washed down 
the bank "by the hundreds". This refuse lodged in various 
places, but is so merged with the clay that it has been rendered 
almost impossible to obtain any specimens by any degree of 
reasonable lal)or. However, a few articles have been extracted 
from some of the more exposed places. 

Testing on the eastern slope and opposite the village site 
did not disclose any refuse, but a small deposit was located on 
the north-east corner, in a hollow between two small knolls. 
This accumulation is evidently the result of wash and very 
few articles were obtained in it. Test holes sunk on the 
escarpment of the ridge extending along the northern side of 
the village site disclosed refuse which in some spots is two feet 
deep. It evidently has been dug over, and no attempt by us 
was made to excavate here. 

A deep pit of virgin refuse was opened in a hollow between 
two knolls on the narrow neck of land to the north of the 
village and the section which separates the village from the 
burial site. This pit is three feet deep in the center, is conical. 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 33 

gradually tapering up to the surface, and is about fifteen feet 
in diameter, being nearly round. 

The articles ol)tained were few in number considering the 
amount of the debris taken out. It was almost solid ashes 
and a very interesting midden. Our refuse work ceased with 
the completion of this pit. 

The burying ground, which is located but a few rods to the 
north of here, has from surface appearance received considerable 
devastation. It is a crime that the records of the work on 
such an important site have not been preserved. The only 
information obtainable is that most of the graves were opened 
a number of years ago by a Mr. Marvin Peck, of West 
Bloomfield, who sold his collection to the State, but unfortu- 
nately most of it was destroyed by fire in the Capitol at Albany 
in 1911. 

Local residents say about one hundred and fifty graves 
were opened, an estimate I think too high by at least fifty. 

Those who have seen some of the exhumations claim that 
great (piantities of artifacts were taken out, among which were 
stone implements, clay jars, pipes and numerous European 
articles, as beads, l)rass articles and iron axes. 

In a grave opened by a Mr. Hinman, a nearby resident, 
the skeleton was said to have been covered with a fur robe 
containing a bear's skull, covered with a layer of red cedar 
sticks. Beneath the robe wah a brass kettle, inverted, covering 
three cla.y pots. Near the body was a clay pipe with a bear 
effigy, the head of which, being hollow, contained a snuill pebble, 
which would rattle when the pipe was shaken. With another 
skeleton were found two bone dolls one of which is in the 
collection of Mr. Dewey. 

I would .iudgc that not more than fifty to seventy burials 
had l)een exhumed. A few test pits were sunk in between and 
on the extreme outside of spots where graves had been opened, 
but without success. Without doubt a trench across the top 
of the knoll would prove successful in the location of several 
graves. Work in this respect was not carried on owing to 
permission not having been obtained from the property owner. 

Burials apparently extend down a portion at least of the 
west side of the knoll, and there may be an extensive burial 
site in the vicinitv not vet disturbed. 



34 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

Tlic soil on the knoll is gravelly loam, on the lower ground 
the tenacious red clay and of such a hard nature that it is 
difficult to make an impression in it with a shovel except in 
wet weather. 

It is said the graves on this site are unusually deep, as is 
evidenced by the examining of one opened that had been 
previously dug. It had a depth of four and one-half feet and 
then th(^ bottom had not been reached Three or four graves 
were unearthed in a gravel pit near the north-east corner of 
the village site a few years ago. No records are obtainable 
of the articles, if any. 

A small luirial site was discovered in 1916 on the edge of 
the east bank at the extreme southern end of the village site. 
i*revious to this five skeletons had been removed, and as near 
as I am able to ascertain each grave contained articles, among 
which are a clay pipe, two or three bone arrow points, some 
triangular arrow points (flint), a few glass and wampum beads, 
and fragments of bi'ass kettles. These burials had been oi^ened 
the previous year and were located on a knoll which projects 
to the east from the narroAV neck of land as shown in the map. 
Trenches were hi id out across the to]) in the shape of a cross 
without result. In addition to this test holes were sunk in 
several ])laces, determining to our satisfaction that no other 
burials existed on this knoll. 

Crossing the hollow to the south testing was commenced 
in a series of holes two feet apart. This was fifty feet from 
where the skeletons just described were located. Charcoal was 
discovered in a hole close to the edge of the bank and on the 
slope which extends from the center of the field to the 
escarpment of the bank on the east side of the site. This 
charcoal was located so close to the edge that we did not at 
first entertain much hopes of its being the evidence of a burial 
underneath, a sign that seldom fails. A skeleton was located 
here at a depth of only eighteen inches, three others on the 
same level and only a few feet apart. One of the skeletons 
was that of a young adult and in a good state of preservation 
with the exception of the skull which had been crushed 
evidently by the weight of the earth. The other three were 
older adults and the bones Avere nearly all decomposed. One 
grave contained a stone about ten inches in diameter which had 



A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 35 

been placed on top of the body when buried, as it was found 
resting on the bones of the skeleton. All were buried in the 
flexed position and had charcoal over them. One grave had 
been lined on the bottom with bark ; two graves had consider- 
able red paint strewn through the earth. These two did not 
contain any articles, but traces of iron rust indicated a knife 
or some other small implement. The other two contained 
remnants of two brass kettles, fifty-five round blue glass beads, 
one hundred twenty-five of the old type wampum beads, two 
triangular points (flint), three small flat and thin stones with 
rounded ends, called "whet stones" and undoubtedly used as 
such, a small clay pot broken and badly decomposed which 
was resting on the bark and contained small animal bones, 
which represented the food. Placed on top of this mass were 
four small chunks of anthracite coal, four badly decomposed 
bears teeth, three pieces of worked flint, and two scpiash seeds. 
The soil here is a tenacious red clay and the locatioii being on 
low ground is very sogg\', which may account for the l)ad 
coiulition of most of the articles. Further test holes did not 
discover any more burials, so trenching in all directions was 
resorted to in hopes of discovering others on top of the knoll. 
I was certain that this knoll had been extensively used, not 
only from its lo-ation but from the fact that the burials just 
described had been located so low down. We were utiable, 
however, to discover another particle of evidence and concluded 
that we had excavated the entire ni'mber in this vicinity. 

A trench was started at or near the bottom of the hill 
below where the graves were opened and charcoal in large 
(piantities located about half way up the bank. This deposit 
was about tAvo feet wide and eighteen inches dee]), but did not 
contain any animal bones or other evidence to connect it with 
the former inhabitants of the site. 

A single burial was discovered in the north-west corner of 
this field and Yery close to the village site, while excavations 
were being carried on for a drain a number of years ago. Xo 
others being exposed there probably are no more located there. 

The village site at the present time being under sod, it is 
impossible to give it a thorough testing or observation, from tlie 
surface. When under cultivation a long time ago it is said a 



36 A CONTACT PERIOD SENECA SITE 

number of black spots several feet in diameter were visible; 
these were undoubtedly lodge sites and must contain more or 
less good refuse and buried history. 

At the southern extremity of the village site a prominent 
knoll extends out beyond the general alignm,ent of the west 
bank and has given rise to a local story that it was the fort of 
the village. It is said that the middle of this knoll which 
is nearly round contained a deep pit of black earth. Testing 
over its entirety and around its base failed to disclose any 
black earth or previously disturbed earth. About half way 
down the western bank and well towards the north end is what 
appears to have been an ancient road-way or wide path leading 
up towards the top of the bank. This has been described in some 
previous sketches on this site. We have made tests for signs 
of artificial WMirk on it, but failing to locate anything other 
than a natural depression that was possibly formed by the 
washing down of the earth from above, we are satisfied that 
it had no aboriginal origin. 

From the top of the hill on which this village was located, 
an unobstructed view of the country can be had for several 
miles around. It is one of the most conipletely naturally 
fortified Indian village sites known anywhere in Western New 
York. 

On the map of Lewis H. Morgan, which places a number 
of Indian villages in the locality, a name given as Ga-nun-da-ok 
and said to mean "a village on a hill" has historically 
been applied to the more recent village of West Bloomfield. 
It is, however, my opinion that it is none other than the name 
referred to by the Indians in their traditions as applying to 
this site, which is not mentioned in any of the early histories, 
perhaps owing to the location. It was not brought under 
cultivation until recently. It is only about one fourth of a 
mile to this site from West Bloomfield, and this Indian village 
site not being known it would not have been an unusual mistake 
to have the location misappropriated. 

From our surveys and a study of the artifacts obtained 
from here. I do not think there can be a question of doubt as 
to the continuous occupation of the village through a portion 
of at least three periods. 



The New York State Archeological Association. 

The objects of this Association shall be : 1st, to promote the 
study of New York State archeology, ethnology and aboriginal 
histor\% and to record the results of such study for the benefit of 
science ; 2d, to preserve and protect the ancient mounds and 
localities connected with the Indians who formerly inhabited this 
state, and to prevent the destruction of these monuments, so far 
as possible ; 3rd, to encourage the formation of scientific coUec- 
tibns of aboriginal artifacts and to cooperate with the various 
museums within the State in the diffusion of archeological knowl- 
edge ; 4th, to establish a uniform system of records and standard 
catalog of XcAV York State archeology: to establish a register 
of collections and collectors, students and sources of information; 
5th, to prevent the matuifacture and sale of fraudulent specimens 
and to prevent the spread of erroneous statements concerning 
matters of archeological interest. 

All persons interested in these subjects are invited to become 
members of the Association or of the local Chapter nearest to 
them. 

The Association and its Chapters plan to issue a uniform 
series of transactions and researches covering all fields consistent 
with the objects of the Association. 

All members of the Association or of its constituent Chapters 
are issued a membership certificate suitable for framing and a 
pocket membership card serving as an introduction in .the field 
where collecting is contemplated. 

The Association is approved by the State Education Depart- 
ment, ITniversity of the State of New York, and is working in 
cooperation with the State iMuseum. 

Address all correspondence to Alvin H. Dewey, Box 185, 
Rochester, N. Y., or Walter IT. Cassebeer, 236 Meigs St., Roches- 
ter, N. Y., or A. C. Parker, State Museum, Albany, N. Y. 



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